Epidemiological characteristics of common viral respiratory infections before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Huzhou,Zhejiang Province
10.3969/j.issn.1672-8467.2025.06.006
- VernacularTitle:浙江省湖州市新冠流行前后常见病毒性呼吸道传染病流行特征分析
- Author:
Min-yi YANG
1
;
Yan LIU
;
Su-yi ZHANG
;
Qiang WANG
;
Guang-tao LIU
;
Bo ZHENG
;
Xin-yu WANG
;
Dan-ni ZHAO
;
Jian-yong SHEN
;
Wei-bing WANG
Author Information
1. 复旦大学上海市重大传染病和生物安全研究院 上海 200032;复旦大学公共卫生学院流行病学教研室-公共卫生安全教育部重点实验室 上海 200032
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
respiratory tract infections;
respiratory viruses;
epidemiological characteristics;
COVID-19 pandemic
- From:
Fudan University Journal of Medical Sciences
2025;52(6):819-828
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate and compare the epidemiological characteristics of common respiratory viruses among influenza-like illness(ILI)and severe acute respiratory infection(SARI)cases in Huzhou,Zhejiang Province before and after the COVID-19 pandemic,so as to provide a basis for formulating and adjusting the prevention and control strategies for viral respiratory infectious diseases.Methods ILI and SARI cases at two influenza surveillance sentinel hospitals in Huzhou and had throat swab samples collected during Nov 2017 to Feb 2020(pre-COVID-19 pandemic period)and Dec 2022 to Apr 2024(post-COVID-19 mitigation phase)were selected as the participants.Seven common viral respiratory pathogens were tested,including influenza A virus(H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes),influenza B virus(Victoria lineage,FluB),respiratory syncytial virus(RSV),rhinovirus(HRV),adenovirus(ADV),and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2(SARS-CoV-2).The positive rates of respiratory pathogens before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were compared across different age groups and different time.Results A total of 7 948 ILI samples and 2 294 SARI samples were included.The overall positive rate of ILI samples increased from 33.6%to 47.1%,primarily due to the increase in influenza and COVID-19 infections;the overall positive rate of SARI samples decreased from 31.4%to 24.8%,mainly due to the reduction in HRV and ADV infections.During the post-COVID-19 mitigation phase,SARS-CoV-2(22.1%),H3N2(12.7%),and FluB(6.0%)were the primary pathogens in ILI samples,while RSV(7.1%),H3N2(5.3%),and HRV(4.5%)dominated in SARI samples.During the post-COVID-19 mitigation phase,the influenza virus circulation period was shortened.Before the COVID-19 pandemic,RSV was mainly detected in autumn and winter,while during the post-COVID-19 mitigation phase,out-of-season RSV epidemics were observed in spring and summer.Co-infection rate in ILI cases increased significantly in the post-COVID-19 mitigation phase,predominantly consisting of co-infections of COVID-19 and influenza A virus,while co-infection rate in SARI cases showed a decline.Conclusion We found important epidemiological changes in respiratory viruses in Huzhou during the post-COVID-19 mitigation phase compared to pre-COVID-19 period,including increased positive rates of influenza and COVID-19,and disruptions to the seasonal patterns of influenza and RSV.The prevention and control strategies should be adjusted in a timely manner based on the monitoring data.
